Native Flags exhibit at the Miami Science Museum (2007).
On October 4, 2007, Miami Mayor Manny Diaz plants a Paradise Tree at the Miami Science Museum and launches Xavier Cortada’s Native Flags project in South Florida.
Native Flags: Paradise Tree
Xavier Cortada, artist-in-residence at FIU College of Architecture + The Arts | Office of Engaged Creativity, created this urban reforestation eco-art project to help restore native habitats for plants and animals in urban areas. Participants are asked to plant a native tree alongside the green project flag in their front yard and state: "I hereby reclaim this land for nature." The project's conspicuous green flags serve as a catalyst for conversations with neighbors, who will be encouraged to join the effort and help rebuild their native tree canopy one yard at a time. Ideally, as they watch each tree grow, their interest in the environment will also grow. (www.nativeflags.org)